December 17, 2023 a thought for today, The start of a journey should never be mistaken for success. English Proverb

This first upload for yesterday was “ornament”. This is an ornament that has been one in a collection of many that have been saved from years past. I like the way it stands out against the red. 

The second upload for yesterday was “bridge”. This is at the entrance to the Ohio State University. I haven’t had time to be in that area for a while so I used this photo image from my archives. 

The third image for December 16th  was shopping. I haven’t been out in the crowded areas of the department stores but I was able to capture this image of someone shopping for food for the holiday.

Life today. Church was good. We, the choir, sang two anthems back to back, a little different than prior services. We had a lot of poinsettias around the altar making it feel much closer to Christmas day. For me it is the beginning of a very full week, I do have a good start on some of the things that will need to be done. I should have the information I need for the bulletin tomorrow morning.

After I got home from church, it was time to get ready to go to a birthday party for my great grandson (and me). We are back from that now ..... it was a fun party and soooo good to be back with all the people there again all in one place. Gideon got so many things that made him happy. He said “this is the best birthday ever.”

The first image upload for today is “Christmas Lights”. What better Christmas lights than those of the Advent Wreath. 

On our way home we drove by the full size nativity scene at St. Joseph Cathedral  It is gorgeous. I only wish my physical circumstances would allow for walking through the whole scene layout. I took photos as well as I could from the car window. 

The weather is not really Christmas-style weather right now and is supposed to be even warmer on Christmas day. I am pretty sure we will get the colder and more severe weather in the next few weeks. Right now we will enjoy what we have. 

The next upload for today is “back alley”. This seems like a break from the holiday  season of images. I like images of European “alleys”, this is an example of one of the alleys in a busy city landscape. 

 

The word today is philosophy. Philosophy is common sense with big words. James Madison.  If he really thinks there is no distinction between vice and virtue, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons, Samuel Johnson. Moderation is the center wherein all philosophies, both human and divine, meet. Benjamin Disraeli.  The true function of philosophy is to educate us in the principles of reasoning and not to put an end to further reasoning by the introduction of fixed conclusions. George Henry Lewes. Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge, Plato.  All things have sprung from nothing and are borne forward to infinity. Who can follow out such an astonishing career? The Author of these wonders, and He alone, can comprehend them, Blaise Pascal.  You are never too old to set another goal. Or to dream a new dream, Aristotle. The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next, Henry Ward Beecher.  No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience, John Locke.  To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically, Henry David Thoreau. 

The last assigned image upload for today is “lights”. This is the sparkler that was on my great grandson’s birthday cake today. It is a fun break from the usual birthday candles. 

This article seemed right for the season, the title “Hunting for nostalgia (and the perfect Christmas tree)”. At the top of the article it is mentioned that the family member writing this article waited to pick up their Christmas tree to the last few days of December saying “It was a bit of a rushed affair”. They saw and ad mentioning that the tree farm was having its final weekend sot the “skipped a skating class in the name of Yuletide festivity”. He mentioned that there were some “rules” about picking up a tree and remembered to family holiday of tree shopping when he was a kid sometimes in the mud and snow. He said his mom was the one in the family with the artistic eye. He went on to say she went through a dozen before that often returned to the “original choice”. He said his dad laid on the ground, “blue spruce needles catching in his beanie” to use the “borrowed hand saw” to bring the tree “crashing” to the ground. One part of the article that was amusing was that while dad was cutting down the tree mom was in the “shanty” by a roaring fire and had hot chocolate in her hand. They would put the tree on the top of the family car and hoped it wouldn’t “roll off the roof” as it had one year. Once the tree arrived home it had to be “acclimated” to the garage. After a period the tree was brought into the house. The “top would drag on the ceiling just a little bit, and we’d have to lop off an inch or three”. The dad would lay on the floor to rotate the tree back and forth its best showing side. At this point in the article it was mentioned how much trees sold for in the ‘90s. It went on to say that now they cost near “a few days’ worth of groceries”. Further on it goes on to share that even though in a few weeks in the living room the tree would “become mulch”. Even with all the trouble along with that of the “uneven branches that you have to test for strength before hanging an ornament” the other warm memories make it all worth it. Because with the hassle there are the other memories like “still of the evening.........the sound of the cat lapping up the water from the tree stand”. So as the article was coming to an end the thing to be remembered is that “it’s something that brings families together during a busy season”. “Take the time to relish the nostalgia of bygone days even as you celebrate in your own way”

A light dinner from the freezer. 

Joy

                                 to busy shopping to put it back